Congress' Pema Khandu meets Arunachal Pradesh Governor, stakes claim to form govt

The Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly at Naharlagun has been put under tight security cover ahead of the floor test by Chief Minister Nabam Tuki on Saturday.

Itanagar: In a dramatic turn of events, the Congress on Saturday chose Pema Khandu as its new leader in Arunachal replacing restored Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, hours ahead of a scheduled Assembly floor test in a bid to save its government.

Here are the LIVE updates:

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju sought to distance BJP from developments in Arunachal Pradesh where the Congress made a dramatic turnaround by changing its leadership in a bid to save its government. "The BJP and the central government have nothing to do with whatever is happening in Arunachal Pradesh. The political instability has been happening in last seven months due to the division within the Congress," he said.

ArunachalPradesh Governor accepts the resignation of Nabam Tuki.

After meeting the Governor, Khandu speaks to media. He says, "I staked claim to the Governor, oath taking date not decided yet." 

Pema Khandu rushes to Raj Bhavan along with 44 supporting MLAs to stake claim to form new government. 

Ahead of Saturday's floor test in Arunachal Pradesh Assembly, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), has decided to change the leadership from Nabam Tuki to Pema Khandu.

Nabam Tuki resigns as the CLP leader, Pema Khandu unanimously elected as the new Congress Legislature Party leader.

Should the Congress win the floor test, Khandu is most likely to become the next chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh.

"You all know that the CLP is in agreement and Pema Khandu will be sworn in as the chief minister," Congress MLA Kameng Dolo said.

Tuki met Governor Tathagata Roy on Friday and sought ten days time to prove his majority in the house but a Raj Bhavan statement later made it clear that the floor test has to be held on Saturday only as slated.

Earlier today, Congress MLAs and rebel Congress lawmakers attended the Congress Legislature Party meeting in the state capital.

Tuki is believed to not having numbers to prove his majority in the Assembly. The numbers game did not appear to favour Tuki since ousted chief minister Kalikho Pul, who is backed by Bharatiya Janata Party, has claimed the support of 43 MLAs, including 11 BJP and two independent members, in the 60-member Assembly.

In obedience of the Supreme Court judgment on Wednesday, the Governor reinstated Tuki as the Chief Minister of the state and asked him to call a session of the state legislative assembly on Saturday (July 16) to prove his majority.

In the Arunachal Pradesh assembly, there are 30 Peoples' Party of Arunachal Pradesh (PPA) members, 11 of the BJP, 15 of the Congress and two Independents. Pul claims that he has the support of 29 PPA legislators, 11 BJP and two Independent legislators.

Congress criticised the acting Arunachal Governor for rejecting Tuki's plea for more time to prove his majority saying he cannot unilaterally convene an assembly session on his own.

Congress government fell in January after the controversial role played by then governor JP Rajkhowa.